Stage
A stage in Stick Ranger is a set of levels. Each level occupies the space of the entire screen, and navigation to the next level within a stage is done via the "NEXT", "MAP", or "BOSS" sign (depending on the stage and/or level, feature appeared as of ver10.1) located to the right of the level. Characters will always spawn on the left side of the level, with the exception of the Town, Village, and Resort, where they spawn to the right of the Shop. Each stage contains enemies, with the exception of the Town, Village, and Resort, which has only one level and no enemies. Players will start at the Town upon game creation. All other stages have 3 to 10 levels, except for the Castle, Submarine Shrine, and Pyramid with 2 levels. At the last level of a stage the player will encounter a boss or a group of bosses. Once the boss(es) are defeated, a sign with the word "MAP" will appear, allowing the player to unlock the next stage (It used to be "NEXT" before ver10.1). Advancement Every stage has a place on the world map and is connected to other stages. To finish a stage, all enemies in the last level (boss area) have to be killed, inclusive of the boss (or bosses), and the player must complete the stage by dragging a character to the "NEXT" sign. It is not mandatory to kill enemies on earlier levels of the stage. Once a stage is finished, the next stage on the world map is revealed and the player is allowed to proceed onwards, or to revisit an earlier stage. If the player finishes a stage which is the final stage of the game, the player returns to the title screen. The player can still load his or her game data and continue playing. (Roll over the mouse on each sign to see their description). World Map Navigation between stages is done with the World Map. The player is able to jump to any unlocked stage, even if there are stages in between the current location and the intended destination. A completed stage is displayed as a red dot, while an unfinished stage is displayed as a yellow dot. The Town, Village and Resort are always displayed as a white dot, the Castle and Submarine Shrine are always displayed as a miniature castle, the Oasis and Pyramid are always displayed as an icon of an oasis and a pyramid, while the stage ??? is not shown on the map at all (even when unlocked and beaten). The entire map cannot be seen in one screen (players must move the mouse to see the entire screen). Terrain The terrain of a level or a stage refers to the "ground", "walls" and "platforms". Tilesets and colours The landscape is generated by using tilesets consisting of tiles 8×8 pixels in size. The ground in most stages is tan, covered with green grass. However, when in the Castle, in the Submarine Shrine, or at the Castle Gate, the ground is blue with an icy white cover. The terrain of stages in the Hill Country series are a murky green with a beige-brown covering. These three terrain types have previously been used for the walls in the game Irritation Stickman. The stages in the Forest series utilize tiles similar to that of Hill Country stages, however it is of a greenish ocher colour. In the cavern stages a reddish brown tile set is used. The Desert series has an orange tileset. Landscapes Special levels, such as the Town, boss levels, as well as the mega bosses have a linear terrain (i.e. level ground). Terrains of other levels are randomly generated through selecting an area 58 tiles in width from a long landscape. Thereafter, the columns on both ends of the terrain are extended by 3 tiles, to form the final terrain that is 64 tiles in length. The use of the extension mechanism is to allow for flat land on the far left and right sides of the screen for characters and the "NEXT" sign to be placed on. The Castle Gate, Opening Street, and the Forest series have rather linear terrains, with the largest height difference between high ground and low ground being 2 block steps (or the height of 1 character). In the Grassland series and Desert 8 the terrain is mainly steps and walls. The largest height difference between high ground and low ground is 4 block steps. In addition, the Hill Country series and Lake have varied terrain that spans a greater height, as well as mid-air platforms. Moreover, Lake is an underwater stage, featuring water that covers part of the stage and most of the terrain. Small parts of water can also be found in the Cavern stages, which is the only landscape with a completely closed ceiling and a windy level structure. Most boss stages are flat, with some exceptions, such as Cavern 4. List of stages There are currently 60 stages: See also *Category: Stick Ranger stages *Final stage *Fan art Stage